Were they to
bother about the comfort of a lot of _boorzhui_ (bourgeois)? We
produced the passes from Smolny; instantly the soldiers changed their
attitude.
"Come, comrades," cried one, "these are American _tovarishtchi._ They
have come thirty thousand versts to see our Revolution, and they are
naturally tired...."
With polite and friendly apologies the soldiers began to leave.
Shortly afterward we heard them breaking into a compartment occupied
by two stout, well-dressed Russians, who had bribed the conductor and
locked their door....
About seven o'clock in the evening we drew out of the station, an
immense long train drawn by a weak little locomotive burning wood,
and stumbled along slowly, with many stops. The soldiers on the roof
kicked with their heels and sang whining peasant songs; and in the
corridor, so jammed that it was impossible to pass, violent political
debates raged all night long. Occasionally the conductor came
through, as a matter of habit, looking for tickets. He found very few
except ours, and after a half-hour of futile wrangling, lifted his
arms despairingly and withdrew. The atmosphere was stifling, full of
smoke and foul odours; if it hadn't been for the broken windows we
would doubtless have smothered during the night.
In the morning, hours late, we looked out upon a snowy world. It was
bitter cold. About noon a peasant woman got on with a basket-full of
bread-chunks and a great can of luke warm coffee-substitute.
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